Saturday, April 6, 2013Bookser blown away by Buckeyes on visit
By Jared Shanker

Playing under a former Michigan placekicker at his high school, Alex Bookser (Pittsburgh/Mt. Lebanon) jokingly goes back and forth with his coach Mike Melnyk about Ohio State. The Buckeyes offered Bookser a few weeks ago, and he visited Columbus on Saturday.

Melnyk gave Bookser a little flak -- jokingly of course -- about visiting Ohio State, but following the visit to Ohio State, Bookser’s interest in the Buckeyes is no joke.

“The facilities were amazing, everyone was so nice,” Bookser said. “The scrimmage was insane. They went so hard and it was intense the whole time.”

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer talked with Bookser for a while, which meant something to the 6-foot-6, 295-pound offensive tackle considering how many top targets were on campus Saturday.

Bookser was under the radar up until a few months ago but has since seen his offers double. Alabama and Georgia are just two of the handful of teams to offer over the last month. Meyer did not know much about Bookser until recently, too.

“He came up to me and put his hand on my head and told me I was a very special player,” Bookser said. “He said at first he didn’t hear much about me but then he watched my film again and called his whole staff in to watch it. It was awesome.”

The visit was “one of the best” Bookser has taken so far.

Offensive tackle is a major priority for the Buckeyes in the 2014 class, and while Bookser is being recruited by some teams as a defensive lineman, most programs project him on offense.